Pakistan minister says Chinese staff 'all safe' in attacked consulate

Paramilitary forces and police take cover behind a wall during an attack on the Chinese consulate, where blasts and shots are heard, in Karachi, Pakistan November 23, 2018. REUTERS/Akhtar Soomro

ISLAMABAD (Reuters) - All 21 Chinese staff in the country’s consulate in Pakistan’s southern city of Karachi are safe after an attack by suicide bombers and have been moved to a safer location, Pakistani Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi said on Friday.

“The attackers couldn’t hurt any of them, nor they could take hostage any of them,” Qureshi told a news conference in Islamabad, the Pakistani capital, adding that the 21 consulate staff had been shifted to a safer place.

At least two policemen and three suicide bombers were killed in the attack, which was claimed by the separatist Balochistan Liberation Army group.

Neighbour China is the South Asian nation’s closest ally and its main benefactor, ploughing billions of dollars into its infrastructure projects as part of the vast Belt and Road initiative.